Cardinal's Sin? Baseball Team Accused of Hacking Rivals

US authorities are currently investigating claims that a US baseball team have hacked into the computer of a rival team. The St Louis Cardinals are said to have illegally accessed a computer database of the Houston Astros.

The hacking is said to have been carried out by employees of the Cardinals in order to steal information about the Astro's players.

The Astro's general manager, Jeff Luhnow, had been an executive with the Cardinals until 2011. The hackers are believed to have gained access by using old passwords that Jeff Luhnow had used when working for the Cardinals.

Baseball teams usually take large measures to protect information like the evaluation of players and their scouting methods because a rival team could gain huge advantages from obtaining this information although it is not known whether the hacked information provided the Cardinals with any competitive advantage.

If found guilty, the penalties involved could include large fines and prison sentences.

The most relevant legislation in the US is The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act which protects any unauthorised remote access of another persons computer and anyone who knowingly accesses a protected computer without authorisation, to obtain anything of value, will be subject to criminal penalties.